Hennepin Saison

This tasting preceded the Belgian ale tasting, perhaps a warm up.

Appearance: Golden pale color, with quite a hazy appearance. Aggressively rising carbonation. A nice 2 finger foamy white head forms and exhibits peaks and all. Very creamy and beautiful looking. Lacing soapily sticks to the side of the glass.

Aroma: Sweet while pungent at the same time. Bready overtones and a dominating yeast funk take the nostrils and fill them with noteable bubblegum character and spicy Belgian tones. Very dry smelling and phenolic.

Taste: I can immediately taste the dry peppery phenols in the back of the throat. Perhaps lemon pepper would be the best description for it. Some honey and citrus and wheat citrus are also initial foretaste characteristics that mellow as the palate gets used to it. Lemon zest and spices finish the beer in normal Belgian fashion. Quite grainy. As the beer continues, the flavor begins to transition into a mild tartness. Finishes dry  and uniquely bitter. Still some bubblegum but also earthy grain and hay flavors as well.
Mouthfeel: Smooth apart from the initial spike of carbonation on the tongue. Still spritzy and very bubbly like a soda or Campaign. Dry tannin based finish. Alcohol has little contribution to this though. Pretty light body and very drinkable.
Overall Impression: It was decent. It definitely boasted a lot of complexity of which I'm still learning to acquaint myself and be able to pick out. I like how different saisons are and how they incorporate that nice lemon pepper flavor.


81/100